Movie references started slow in the season 1 under Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon as showrunners, but quickly picked up starting in season 2.

On the show’s commentary, many writers note the increase in these kinds of references in seasons three and four under Al Jean and Mike Reiss, as the popularity of VHS allowed an easier way to replicate classic films. Ultimately, Jean and Reiss left the show to start The Critic (1994-95), which allowed them to focus even more on movie parodies.

Seasons five and six under David Mirkin mark the peak of movie references on the show during the first 13 seasons, both in terms of total references and major references.

Ironically, by trying to get back to the family-centric stories of Jean and Reiss, Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein took a less reference-heavy approach for seasons seven and eight that drew more from the writers’ own lives.

Mike Scully’s time as showrunner saw a major flux in references, with season nine continuing the downward trajectory of Oakley and Weinstein, seasons ten and 11 marking another high water mark for movie references, and then falling back down in season 12. However, the Scully years still contained fewer major parodies, even when the total number of references grew.

Finally, in season 13 the show saw a slight increase in total references with the beginning of Al Jean’s long stint as showrunner, while the number of major parodies continued to decline.